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Legumes in the Kitchen: They Are Not Just For Nitrogen-Fixing
LEGUMES IN THE KITCHEN: THEY ARE NOT JUST FOR NITROGEN-FIXING
When it comes to legumes, I come from a fortunate background. Born and raised in the southern Louisiana, where cuisine is something entirely different than the rest of the United States, food has long been a product of love and cherish. It deserves devotion. It is given time. Louisianans know the value of doing it slow. Consequently, I grew up intrinsically aware of the worth, nutritionally and palatably, of a home-cooked meal.
What’s more is that, in Louisiana, food comes from the earth. It’s a state full of food festivals and festivities centered around locally produced food. I grew up knowing the time to buy watermelon or the season for crawfish, and I grew up sharing a table with extended family, all of us licking our fingers clean of spices and sauces. We know how to eat. We know how to cook. And, around the country, the world even (though people don’t realize that Cajun is of Louisiana), our flavors are renown.
All of this is to say that, for me, moving into permaculture, the constant inclusion of legumes as a powerful garden element is nothing short of miraculous. In Louisiana, we are a bean-and-rice eating people. Traditionally, Mondays are for one of our signature dishes: red beans and rice, often with homemade sausage. For New Year’s Day, black-eyed peas (a variety of cowpeas) and cabbage are tradition for bringing in health and wealth in the months to come. We eat beans all the time.
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Organic Agriculture Systems Continue to Outshine Conventional Systems in Multiple Studies
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO OUTSHINE CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS IN MULTIPLE STUDIES.
Rodale Institute has conducted one of the most substantial studies of organic and conventional agriculture. The Farming Systems Trial consists of more than 30 years worth of side-by-side comparison of conventional chemical based systems vs organic manure based and legume based systems. The findings were impressive; organic yields consistently match conventional yields, even outperforming those yields during times of more moderate drought. Organic systems also build soil matter, making it more sustainable versus conventional systems’ tendency to deplete it.
Not only does organic farming use 45% less energy, but it also produces less greenhouse gas emissions.
Rodale also suggested in a conclusion of its 30 year trial that organic agriculture is the solution for feeding the world now and in the future. A report from the Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United States (FAO) stated “organic agriculture has the potential to secure a global food supply, just as conventional agriculture is today, but with reduced environmental impact.”
The evidence of the profitability of organic systems in this, and many other studies, cannot be argued. Profitability is determined by many factors; crop yields, labor costs, price premiums, and cost savings.
Not only do cost savings due to reduced usage of nonrenewable resources and chemical pesticides increase profitability of organic crops, but cost-benefit analysis shows that it also helps to offset increased labor costs due to the need for manual labor versus mechanical labor that organic systems present. With this in mind, the need for manual labor presents a huge advantage not only for organic agriculture itself, but economically through job creation as well, providing 30% more jobs in rural areas.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Give Back to the Garden
GIVE BACK TO THE GARDEN: PAUL TAYLOR TEACHES “LIVING SOILS”
For far too long, mankind has viewed soil as a dead substance, something to be sucked dry of its remaining vitality before moving on to cultivate another patch of land. At the same time, we’ve also viewed anything other than what we’ve defined as the harvest to be waste—something to also be discarded and left behind.
Living Soils for Vital Food, a five-day (January 18th-January 22nd) workshop taught by organic soil management specialist Paul Taylor, is designed to change that. This course will transform the way that participants view soil and fertilizers while giving them the necessary knowledge to put these new perspectives into practice.
Taylor is an experienced educator, with Australian Federal Government FarmReady approval. He also holds a Certificate IV in Education, Training, and Assessment which qualifies him to teach under the federal Vocational Education and Training guidelines. For more than three decades, Paul has been studying and practicing organic farming methods and using them to restore degraded agricultural land, and he thrives on sharing those years of experience with his students.
LIVING SOILS: COMPLEX, CRUCIAL
“Dirt” is spoken of derisively; it’s easy to trample all over it without a second thought. Yet, soil is one of the essential ingredients for supporting life on Earth. And speaking of our planet, we didn’t name it after water, or the light of our sun, or even ourselves: We named it after the humble soil beneath our feet: earth.
To understand sustainability, to put good food growing practices to work, and to usher in an era where we stop treating our planet like something disposable, we must—literally—start from the ground up, transforming our former understanding as we go.
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Social Polycultures: Using Permaculture For Building Resilient Relationships
SOCIAL POLYCULTURES: USING PERMACULTURE FOR BUILDING RESILIENT RELATIONSHIPS
It is important to recognize that no physical system is created without social systems and stronger social systems better support our physical systems and vice versa. Each of these physical systems have some assemblage of roles that make the whole project function. For example a permaculture based design firm working on installing an urban permaculture farm might have, designers, office managers, installers, caretakers, etc. Those people are in turn connected to and supported by additional social systems, like families or friends and colleagues that enable them to do the work that they do.
By applying the permaculture ethics, principles, and a similar design process that we use in our physical systems to our social systems we can get better at bringing about greater ease, functionality and mutual benefits in both our physical sites and social organizations and programs. By making these social networks visible and honoring their important functions we can counter the problematic individualist narrative and learn to better collaborate for greater effective change.
PERMABLITZ: SOCIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN IN ACTION:
One example of this design thinking in action can be seen in the implementation of Permablitz’s. As defined by Permablitz Melbourne, a Permablitz is an informal gathering involving a day on which a group of at least two people come together to achieve the following:
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The Definitive Guide to Keeping Chickens in Winter
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO KEEPING CHICKENS IN WINTER
Welcome to The Definitive Guide To Keeping Chickens In Winter. Raising chickens during winter can be a challenging time for backyard chicken owners. With those dark cold mornings and the drop in egg production, it’s no wonder we don’t like this time of year!
So I decided to write this guide as an aid for all backyard chicken owners, and to answer all your questions about how to care for your chickens during winter: how to keep them warm, how to stop predators, how to keep your egg production high… you will find all the answers here.
Each chapter can be read as a standalone guide on a specific topic; however you should make sure you try and read the entire guide to get the most out of it. You can drop in and out of it as needed, or you can read the entire guide cover to cover right now!
As each Chapter is a quite in-depth article, the full chapter’s are available via the link!
WINTERIZING YOUR COOP
In the first chapter of our definitive winter guide, we are going to look at how to prepare your coop so it’s ready for winter.
Mother Nature built the chicken to withstand some fairly extreme environments. The layers of downy feathers under the visible plumage can be puffed up to catch air against the body, providing extra warmth in cold climates. This gives them insulation against cold air.
However during the darkest days in winter these feathers aren’t enough to keep your chickens warm, which is why you provide them with a coop to roost in during nighttime.
The ideal coop should be warm, secure and draft proof; however it should also provide ventilation for your girls. Let’s take a look at each point in turn.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand on the Brink of GM Decision
FOOD STANDARDS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ON THE BRINK OF GM DECISION
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) is in the midst of making a critical decision that could impact what you know about your food in the future. The question at hand is whether or not certain new techniques used for plant propagation will be classified under the umbrella of genetic modification (GM) in Australia. Known as gene-editing, these new and un-tested techniques have already been labelled as such in New Zealand.
It’s an important issue, because, without the classification, there will be no impetus—legally or otherwise—for fresh food providers to let consumers know whether or not the fruits, vegetables, and grains they’re eating have been subjected to genetic editing.
A HOTLY CONTESTED ISSUE
The debate ranges far beyond the shores of Australia and New Zealand, chief FSANZ scientist Dr. Marion Healey explains. Reaching a consensus doesn’t seem to be a simple matter. Some groups, like Friends of the Earth, are calling for more regulation, oversight and additional investigation before the techniques are used to alter food producing plants.
These organizations point out the fact that many of these techniques have not even been agreed upon by the scientific community. A spokesperson for the group, Louise Sales, suggests that without regulation these altered foods
“are going to be making their way into the food chain unlabelled, and that’s going to reduce choices for farmers and consumers.”
WHAT’S THE HARM?
It’s not so much what we know about GM plants that are troubling—it’s what is as yet unknown, which is a great deal. Peter Langridge, a professor from the University of Adelaide, explains just how dramatic some of the alterations these plants have undergone can be.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Answering For Climate Change: A Peruvian Farmer Sues an Energy Giant
ANSWERING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: A PERUVIAN FARMER SUES AN ENERGY GIANT
LEGAL OR POLITICAL BARRIERS?
Lliuya, after being ignored by energy giant RWE, the “biggest single emitter of CO2” in Europe, has decided to take a different route, with the help of NGO Germanwatch: he’s suing. While many people believe that ascribing legal fault to companies that contribute to climate change is untenable, others disagree, like Andrew Gauge, West Coast Environmental Law Staff Counsel. Gage contends that the problem with tackling companies and holding them accountable for their contributions to global warming is not without legal precedent. Instead, he says, “The reality is that the barriers are political, not legal.”
That’s why Lliuya’s case against RWE is attracting so much notice. Even if the farmer doesn’t succeed, the outcome of the case could open the doors for future cases. As Gage puts it, “You can’t have a business model where you know you are causing billions of dollars of harm each year,” while discounting any responsibility for that damage. “Sooner or later, that conversation comes back to you.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
David Holmgren Interview on Permaculture, Energy Descent & Future Scenarios
DAVID HOLMGREN INTERVIEW ON PERMACULTURE, ENERGY DESCENT & FUTURE SCENARIOS
An interview with David Holmgren, questions by Samuel Alexander, a lecturer with the Office for Environmental Programs and research fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI), University of Melbourne. He also co-directs the Simplicity Institute. This is the full length interview from the upcoming documentary A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity http://facebook.com/asimplerway
This interview is a great opportunity to hear David’s latest thoughts on permaculture, energy descent, retrofitting the suburbs, and future scenarios. Only small parts of the interviews we’re filming with thinkers and activists will make it into the documentary, so we’ve been releasing the full versions to YouTube because they’re an important resource for provoking discussion on these issues.
When You Grow Your Food–You Know Your Food
WHEN YOU GROW YOUR FOOD—YOU KNOW YOUR FOOD
That’s why more people are growing their own food.
PROCESSED FOODS & THEIR INGREDIENTS—MYSTERY AFTER MYSTERY
You’ve probably seen a few lists of the “grossest” ingredients in processed foods. Maybe you’ve heard about carmine, a red dye created from crushed beetles, or cellulose, which is essentially very, very fine sawdust. Both are quite common in various processed and prepared foods. But these two ingredients, at least, are relatively recognizable and have been used extensively for a long time.
We’re less concerned about the ick factor than we are the simple fact that it can be difficult to know what you’re eating—and that can let more than an icky ingredient or two slip by you. For example, are you familiar with butylated hydroxytoluene? Probably not. But not only is this additive used in jet fuel, rubber, and embalming fluids, it’s also used in foods—as a preservative.
So what? Well, if you do a bit of research on this one very common ingredient, you’ll find that there’s a fair bit of controversy surrounding it. It can be “reasonably anticipated” to be a cancer-causing agent in human beings, according to the National Toxicology Program. Its MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) cites its potential to cause liver damage.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Ancient Origins of Agroforestry, Polycultures, and Permaculture As We Know It
ANCIENT ORIGINS OF AGROFORESTRY, POLYCULTURES, AND PERMACULTURE AS WE KNOW IT
Ironically, permaculture’s methods are cutting edge in comparison to the dull spade of today’s large scale monoculture–but, the roots extend far beyond what either blade can reach.
Indeed, as Sepp Holzer demonstrated himself, anyone who observes nature for long enough, and adjusts their methods to ensure the best outcome as far as ecosystem health, abundance of harvest, etc will come to similar conclusions.
Without knowing it, Holzer developed and implemented techniques that unintentionally fell under the qualifications of permaculture and polyculture. He was even contacted and asked if he would like to define his methods as such, so universally compatible were they with the emerging set of permaculture philosophies. His book, Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture, A Practical Guide to Small-Scale, Integrative Farming and Gardening, details his observations and methods in depth.
ANCIENT ORIGINS OF AGROFORESTRY AND POLYCULTURES
But as stated before, this synchronicity doesn’t hearken to the collective innovation of these modern times. I’ve been doing some research, and the knowledge is actually quite ancient–just ask indigenous peoples from around the world, who have traditionally practiced techniques of agroforestry and other polycultural land management practices for many generations.
Humans around the world, particularly indigenous cultures, have practiced permaculture methods for tens of thousands of years. Today’s permaculture as a movement is certainly neatly packaged and understandable for contemporary urban audiences. However, diverse indigenous cultures hold within their oral traditions tomes of place-based polycultural knowledge, attained over observation, trial and error over the course of at least tens of thousands of years. Additionally, the indigenous cultural ethic of community and planetary stewardship is responsible for the permaculture methods we seek to proliferate today.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
What is Degrowth? Envisioning a Prosperous Descent
What is Degrowth? Envisioning a Prosperous Descent
This is a transcript of my keynote address presented at the ‘Local Lives, Global Matters’ conference in Castlemaine, Victoria, 16-18 October 2015. Other keynote speakers included Rob Hopkins, David Holmgren, and Helena Norberg-Hodge.
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for that introduction, Jacinta, good morning everyone. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land and to recognise that these have always been spaces of teaching, learning, sharing, and conversation. It is a real honour to be part of this conversation today.
When I was a boy, if ever I were amongst a group of people congregating at 9am on a Sunday morning it was because I was at Church. For better or for worse, I am now a lapsed, or rather, I should say, a collapsed Catholic, although I remain a seeker. But as I look around the world today, especially from my Western perspective, it seems clear enough that God, if he is not yet dead, as Friedrich Nietzsche declared, is, at least, increasingly absent. There seems to be a tension between our spiritual sensibilities and the cultures and systems within which we live. As the poet-musician, Tom Waits, would shout in the voice of a husky wolf: ‘God’s away on business.’
But the absence of God should not imply an absence of religious thinking in our culture or cultures. In fact, I would argue quite the opposite; that our Western religiosity has become ever more intense in recent decades, and what has happened is that we simply switched idols, no longer worshipping the God of Christianity, and instead worshipping at the alter of growth, singing praises to the God of GDP, our saviour, for only in growth will we find redemption. Our high priests now take the peculiar form of neoclassical economists, bankers, and national treasurers.
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The Differences Between Commercial and Organic Honey Can Help You Find Your Sweet Spot
The Differences Between Commercial and Organic Honey Can Help You Find Your Sweet Spot
For thousands of years, honey has been widely used for both nutritional and medicinal purposes. Over 300 varieties are available in the United States alone. These range from those that are nearly colorless and bland tasting, to strains offering rich brown hues, robust with flavor. However, many store-bought honeys are processed, removing much of the pollen content.
While preserving pollen is attainable simply by using a coarse filter and minimal heat to sift bee parts, wax and hive debris, recent scientific research is throwing out some very sticky questions: Can products containing little to no pollen still be called honey? Does bee pollen really matter?
As it turns out, the answer is both yes and no.
WHY BEE POLLEN STILL MATTERS
Health, definition and identity are the central issues to understanding why these tiny flower grains are of vital concern. First, many believe that bee pollen contains nutrient-rich properties that promote good health. Second, pollen is what defines honey. Third, pollen is honey’s DNA that allows its source to be identified.
HEALTH
Contrary to widely held beliefs about pollen’s powerful health benefits, ongoing scientific studies have shown that its quantities in the product are insufficient to have any meaningful nutritional value. According to Dr. Lutz Elflein, a honey analysis expert with an international food laboratory, amounts range from about 0.1 to 0.4 percent. Similarly, a 2004 study by the Australian government found the percentage of pollen in 32 Australian canola honey samples ranged only from 0.15 percent to 0.443 percent.
Another 2012 study by the National Honey Board analyzed vitamins, minerals and antioxidant levels in raw and processed varieties. The study revealed that commercial processing significantly reduced pollen content, but did not affect its nutrient content or antioxidant activity. The results led researchers to conclude that the micronutrient profile of honey is not associated with its pollen content and is unaffected by commercial processing.
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Human Permaculture: Some Ideas On How To ‘Seed’ Information For Fertile Results
Human Permaculture: Some Ideas On How To ‘Seed’ Information For Fertile Results
SEEDS AND STORIES
In my previous article, ‘Human Permaculture: Looking at Migration as Flow to Solve Problems’ (1), I explored how we can apply permaculture water-designs to help people who are ‘flowing’ from one place along particular pathways to reach the destinations suitable for them in a way which can benefit those arriving and those already there. Applying such principles will need a concerted effort of communication among all those affected by human flow. This article also looks at other ways of applying permaculture-inspired ideas with people and technology.
If we can analogise the way in which people travel around as similar to water flowing, it is also possible to look at the way we use language and information as the ‘seeds’ which that water can nourish; or destroy. In our increasingly electronically-collected global information system, information can be used to help create huge blooms of beneficial change. Yet it is also important to consider where we plant such seeds, or whether or not we encourage certain types of language or technology, in order to best encourage growth which is mutually beneficial.
Seedbombs for travellers
The idea of using information as a way to help those traveling into Europe was suggested as a response to my previous ‘Human Permaculture’ article by Andrej Vesmir (2). As explored in that article, there are a small number of ‘crisis points’ in Europe where the number of people arriving into the place exceeds the amount of resources or infrastructure necessary to support such numbers. However, if networks of communication could be set up which provide up-to-date information about points of arrival, such ‘crises’ can be avoided as people will choose to travel to somewhere where their needs will be supported.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Piecing Together a Guild of Your Own
Piecing Together a Guild of Your Own
In the scheme of permaculture food production, harnessing the most out of nature whilst using its own attributes, creating plant guilds ranks pretty high up there. Most of us know them in simplified forms such as the three sisters—corn, beans and squash—or companion plantings like carrots and onions or tomatoes and basil. While these combinations are great things to be familiar with, the larger lesson is learning to create more systemic guilds on our own.
Obviously, it is much more beneficial to us, as growers of food and designers of edible landscapes, to recognize the pattern of plants that group together nicely as opposed to learning a few complimentary sets. In essence, wouldn’t it be great to simply know how to make our own, personalized guilds, to be able to effectively combine plants suitable to our respective environments rather than trying to plant an apple tree guild in the tropics or bananas in Canada?
Well, I’m quite certain that Big Bill and Dapper Dave, the co-originators of permaculture, would shout enthusiastic “yeas” in response to this question. The idea has always been to take what works—the guilding system—and translate that around the globe. Let’s leave bananas to the tropics and apples to the temperate, but we can find them climate appropriate plants with which to mingle. So, then, from that perspective, what makes a good guild?
THE CENTERPIECE
In the largest scale of things, a guild starts with a centerpiece, a tall and often widespread overstory tree. These are enormous trees that tower of everything. Though it may take several years, perhaps a decade or more, they produce food on an equally massive scale. They are the very trees that, in the end, will be the ceiling of the food forest, and it is with their success in mind that the guild is being created.
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How Soil and Carbon are Related
How Soil and Carbon are Related
Carbon cycle is one of the fundamental requirement of life on earth. Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be described as the amount of carbon that is stored in the soil as one of the components of the soil organic matter which comprises the animal and plant materials and different stages of decay. Organic carbon (OC) mainly enters the soil by the decomposition of the animal and plant residuals, dead and living microorganisms, root exudates and soil biota. Soil organic carbon is heterogeneous structure that varies in it particle size, carbon content, turnover time and its decomposition rate. Soil organic carbon is the main energy source for the soil microorganisms. The soil organic matter in the soil has approximately 58% carbon.
ORGANIC CARBON STORED IN SOIL CAN BE INCREASED BY THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES
The processes that can be used to increase the amount of soil carbon in the soil include; things like increasing plant growth which generally increases the input of organic carbon to the soil in roots, shoot material and root exudates example is the increasing water use efficiency and optimal nutrition. Also growing plants for longer durations each year increases the inputs of the organic carbon to the soil. Also by improving the soil structure it can also help to increase the organic carbon stored in the soil by reducing the losses of organic carbon from the soil by erosion and decomposition and this can be done by maintaining the ground cover, retaining stubbles and reduction of compaction. In addition practices like conservation farming, improving crop management through rotation, maintaining and improving forestry management and also improving grazing management can help to increase the organic carbon in the soil.
SOIL CARBON AND SOIL HEALTH
Carbon content in the soil is a major factor of the overall soil health. Soil carbon is meant to improve the physical properties of soil like increasing the cation exchange capacity (CEC).
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